Three years ago, I stopped blogging here for many reasons. Although I didn’t know when I’d return, I did know I’d be back sometime. That time is now. And here’s why:
Since 2004, I have blogged about children’s culture and technology, from the rise of cel phones for kids (here) to the use of video games to engage students and promote learning (here, here, here, here and here) and everything in between. It’s this last area of video games as tools for learning that has brought me back.
In the last six months, the idea that video games won’t turn your children into zombies, but might actually help them learn is beginning to grow in popularity. Educators in the twittersphere and beyond are finally moving beyond being excited about wikis, moodles and wordles and are realizing that the real student learning is happening on xboxes, PS3s on Minecraft servers and in the halls of Blackwing Descent.
The new voices coming into these discussions on gaming and learning provide a chance for all of us to continue to redefine what learning and school look like.
However, what I also see are educators who seek to simply “gamify” education or cram these alternative literacies into an existing pedagogical framework. Both these strategies will kill any authentic learning video games offer and merely recreate creepy treehouse environments that reinforce the hidden curriculum of playing “school.” My posts will aim to counter these views as I explore using games within the confines of the classroom.
Currently, I’m working with a small group of elementary students in the game Minecraft for literacy support. I hope to post about the work we are doing around that in the coming days.